1st Night in Orlando

I awoke with a jitter of excitement, well as excited as one can be at 5:30 AM. I bid the Ruckel household and parents farewell and Chris and I set out for the airport. After an Einstein bagel I said bye to Chris, I will spare you the details, as usual it was tough, but this time I had Orlando as my destination instead of the freezing cold of the northwest. My flight to Orlando was a half hour early and Katie’s plane was ten minutes late so I beat her there and waited around in the humid, Disney apparel flooded terminal. “When You Wish Upon A Star” was playing in between the flight announcements.

After an awkward encounter with a random airport baggage helper and one accidental emergency shutting down of the baggage carousel it was time to leave the airport. Scott picked us up from the airport and drove us around Orlando a little bit so he could help us get our bearings set. He said they have had a cold streak the last few days, cold streak being below freezing temperatures, which is the coldest it has been here in the last forty years! But supposedly that is over now (my fingers are crossed).

We went through part of Disneyworld and stopped at the Boardwalk (a boardwalk with shops, restaurants, and a few ferries on the water) and went to the ESPN Club for a quick bite to eat. I snooped around a little bit and saw some sweet memorabilia. Home run balls, Heisman trophy candidate helmets, and a few famous signatures on photos and jerseys (my favorite being Larry Bird, Tim Tebow, and Scottie Pippen). By the best highlight of the whole place the originals seats from the Boston Garden. SWEET!!! They were mounted on the wall. They had some original seats from other places but nothing seemed to really compare.

We got back in the car and drove home where we were greeted my Lisa, Ashley (13), Mike (12), and Miley (a combination of Mike and Ashley) the labradoodle doggy! We had dinner salad for me and porcupines for everyone else. Not real porcupines but meatballs covered in gravy and rice, a childhood favorite of Lisa’s. They looked good but I still don’t think I am quite ready to try meat again.After dinner Katie and I attempted to help Mike with his math homework. Let’s just say I tagged out pretty quickly. Far more complex than when I was in seventh grade. The night was capped off with a little of the American Idol premiere, a show I don’t usually watch, however this season there will be a guy from Billings on there so I have to show support for a fellow Montanan.

We have check in between 9 AM and Noon….YAY!!! We will finally know what our jobs are, where we are living, and who we are living with!